3 Famous Musicians Who Weren’t Loving the Beatles

Even though they were the biggest band of the 20th century, quite a few people didn’t like The Beatles. There’s no shame in it if the Fab Four aren’t your cup of tea. It’s all a matter of taste. However, these three famous musicians really didn’t like The Beatles. Let’s take a look, shall we?

1. Julian Casablancas

The frontman of The Strokes is one younger-generation hater of The Beatles. He very directly said he wasn’t a fan, and also said that his dislike of the Fab Four was an “advantage” he had as a musician. He also mentioned that the onset of the Internet was a big thing for musicians as well as listeners who didn’t want to just hear The Beatles all the time. People didn’t just get exposure to music via the radio anymore. Music tastes could finally find some diversity, and music accessibility had finally hit the mainstream. We’d have to agree with him on that.

“I have that maybe advantage that I didn’t like or listen to the Beatles,” said Casablancas in 2018. “I feel like that’s almost like the branch of, like, 98% of stuff you hear. But then there’s the Velvet Underground. I know Lou Reed hated the Beatles.”

Which brings us to our next entry…

2. Lou Reed

While famous musicians disliking The Beatles didn’t have much of an effect on the Fab Four, we’d imagine getting told Lou Reed doesn’t like your music would sting at least a little bit. Back in the 1980s, Reed famously said on PBS that he “never liked The Beatles”. He even went a bit far with the whole conversation, stroking his and The Velvet Underground’s ego.

“I thought they [The Beatles] were rubbish,” said Reed. “I know it sounds pretentious… but the other stuff couldn’t come up to our ankles, not up to my kneecap, not up to my ankles, the level we were on, compared to everyone else.”

3. Trent Reznor

The Nine Inch Nails frontman and industrial rock hitmaker has a bit of a complicated relationship with The Beatles. As a youth, Trent Reznor hated the mainstream music world’s obsession with Beatlemania and much of what the band represented. He also really hated their fans.

“I hate to think in a retro mindset,” Reznor said in 1994. “You know, ‘The Beatles were the best thing…’ F*** The Beatles, I hated people who were always going on about the f***in’ Beatles. They’re dead. They’re ugly now. Get them out of my sight.”

Though, it’s worth noting that Reznor changed his mind a bit as he aged. He even referred to the Fab Four as “geniuses” in the 2010s.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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